Dkcuit breaker



Jan. 11, 1938. B. F. JENNlNGs CIRCUIT BREAKER I Filed Feb. 21, 1936 5 w? r/v lc. www/N05;

- I N V EN TOR.

BY ATTORNEYS.

Patented Jan. ll, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE lclulm.

This invention relates' to improvements in an electric circuit breaker and its principal object is to provide a construction of simple form, which can be easily made at a reasonable cost and which can be installed in a circuit at present in use or in combination with new circuits as being built.

A further object is to provide a circuit breaker, which will be found effective for use on automobiles or like vehicles, when a plurality of the same are placed in predetermined positions such as two adjacent the front and two adjacent the rear of the automobile and which would, under ordinary circumstances, have one or other of the outer or free end of the'plunger struck during an impact upon the automobile accidentally or otherwise striking a person or object, such as what is commonly called a hit-and-run accident.

A further object is to provide a circuit breaker,

which` will break the ignition circuit of an automobile and thus reducethe possibiiities of fire hazard upon the automobile being in an accident or collisions in which the impact causes the plunger of one or other of the circuit breakers to be actuated to circuit breaking position.

A further object of my invention is to provide a circuit breaker of simple form which is normally sealed in its operative position and which, upon the circuit being broken, cannot be re-set for further use without the seals having been broken and provision whereby the construction may be re-sealed after the circuit breaker has been reprepared to normal operative condition.

A further object of my invention is to pro- 35 vide a circuit breaker which is simple in construction and which may have many different uses wherein a construction of this nature may be found most advantag'eous.

With these and other objects in view as will 40 appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of co-operating elements as hereinafter more speciflcally set forth, claimed and shown in the accompanying drawing, in

45 which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional perspective view of the body portion of my circuit breaker, certain parts being shown in section and others in full view, illustrating the preferred embodi- 50 ment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a.` modified form of a terminal-contact `member and adjacent parts.

Like numerals of reference designate corre- 55 sponding parts throughout the different views.

(Cl. ZOO-52) In the objects above set forth. I have mentioned the use of my circuit breaker in connection with an automobile. I do not wish to be limited to the use of the same in connection with automobiles exclusively'. The circuit breaker as 5 disclosed in this application may be used to eliminate flre hazards upon an aeroplane crashing or the circuit breaker may be used in many different ways and for many different mechanical or electrical equipment wherein it is desired to pro- 10 vide a circuit breaker which is normally in operative position but which may be temporarily moved t`o inoperative position upon actuation of the plunger accidentally, mechanically or automatically on account of excessive pressure. 15

3 is a body portion of my circuit breaker having a longitudinal opening l therein from one end thereof in which a plunger 5 snugly fits and may be moved longitudinaily therein. The outer or free end of this plunger 5 may extend any de- 20 sired predetermined distance and may have a single end portion or the end may 'be bifurcated to provide a Y-shaped end portion, the striking of either end portions Operating through a common inner end portion of the plunger 5. If de- 25 sired, it may have a greater number of spaced unit ends, all of whichconverge to the one main portion of the plunger 5. Furthermore, the actual ends of the respective outer or free ends of this plunger 5 may be of different lengths to accommodate different requirements to which the circuit breaker may be put.

Preferably the inner end of the plunger 5 is provided with a wedge or conical shaped portion 88 at 5'.

I provide a transverse opening 6 adjacent the inner end of the opening l. 'i and 1' are caps. of insulating material, as glass or porcelain, threadedly engaged in the body portion 3 at the respective ends of the opening G. Conductor 40 wires 8 and 8' extend through openings suitably formed in caps 1 and l' respectively, the inner ends of the caps being provided with sockets to receive the opposite ends of a carbon, destructible Conductor or fuse 9. The ends of the respective Conductor wires 8 and 8' may be frayed and spread out to provide a good contact between such ends and the respective ends of the carbon destructible conductor or fuse 9 when the caps are threaded inwardly to their normal fixed position, in which position they provide a tight engagement against the opposite ends of the carbon destructible conductor or fuse 9. I provide an opening transverse of the body portion 3 and which extends across the opening 4. An opening of similar size and registering therewith (when the plunger is in normaloperative position) is provided in the inner end of the plunger 5. A bolt or shearing pin |0 of a predetermined shearing strength according to the makeup of the herein-described circuit breaker and the particular purpose for which it is to be used, is inserted through these last mentioned openings. If desired, this shearing pin |0 may be provided with a threadedly engaged nut ll. Upon impact to the plunger 5, the pin |0 will be she'ared and the wedge or conicai shaped end of the plunger 5 will break and disengage the carbon destructible conductor or fuse 9 from its normal electrical conduction position.

A's a matter of protection, I provide a means to eliminate the use of undesirable shearing pins which are not of the proper predetermined shearing strength and to eliminate unauthorized tampering with the respective parts of my circuit breaker, I provide a sealing meansl for the caps 1 and 'I' consisting of a Wire |2, the opposite ends of which extend downwardly through small adjacent oppositely registering holes in the cap 1, body portion 3 and cap 'l'. The protruding ends of the wires are provided with any type design of seal ll. Protruding from the body portion 3, I provide integral lugs |5, which have openings formed therein registering with an opening formed in the protruding end of the shearing pin |0, as shown in Fig. 1. A wire IG extends through the openings in the lugs IB and the end of the shearing pin |0, the free ends of such wire being brought together and sealed with any type or design of seal I'l.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing forming a part of this application, I have shown' brackets l8 attached to the opposite ends of the body portion 3. The brackets |8 which I have illustrated are of a most simple L-shaped form. These are only illustrative of a holding means whereby the circuit breaker hereinbefore described may be attached to another object or article. I do not wish to be limited to these holding means being detached or integral with the body portion 3 nor do I wish to be limited to any particular shape or design awansu of the same as the body portion and these brackets will materialy change in shape and design according to the particular make-up of the entire circuit breaker for the manyivarious and particular uses to which a circuit breaker, as hereinbefore described. may be advantageously used.

Referring to Fig. 2, I provide a cap 'la through which the conductor 8a extends. |9 is a flexiblefingered socket, adaptedto receive the end of the carbon destructible conductor or fuse 9. This socket |0 is engaged to the inner end of the cap 'la by means of the screw 20 engaging together the end portion of the socket |9 and the uncovered end of the conductor 0a both of which are jammed between the head of the screw 20 and the inner end of the cap 'la into which the screw 20 is threadedly engaged.

The foregoing specification and annexed drawing disclose the preferred embodiment of my invention but it is to be understood that minor changes may be resorted to in the commercial adaptation of my invention without departing from the spirit of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What I claim as new is:

An impact electric circuit breaker comprising a body portion formed with a longitudinal slot terminating in a. wedge-shaped end within the body, aplunger slidable in said slot, the walls of said slot adjacent the wedge shaped end having a transverse hole therethru said hole passing thru the slotted portion, said plunger having its ends formed respectively with a wedge shaped termination designed to fit the wedge shaped end of said slot and the other end extending beyond the body portion to receive an impact, removable terminal plugs carried in the ends of said transverse hole, a rupturable conductor connecting the ends of said terminal plugs and extending across the slot in the path of the plunger, a shearing pin passing thru the body portion and plunger to determine the force necessary to operate the circuit breaker and means for sealing said apparatus against unauthorized tampering.

BURTON F. JENNINGS. 

